Just Plain Weider
by geminisonic
Summary: Josie Monroe story continuation. Josie has a lot to worry about at the moment, and being five doesn't help her situation. Luckily her dad has a Grimm, a Fuchsbau, and so many others looking out for her. Rated T for violence, child abuse, language, and sex. refs.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! Josie is back! I'm super psyched and glad you guys have been asking about her and waiting patiently. **

**My updates may not be as frequent but I will do my best. I am in the process of writing like six other fanfics plus getting ready for finals so my life's a little crazy! I will do my best to keep up with the episodes while making more happen in Josie's story. I'm thinking of putting more of her thoughts from the past in this and giving you guys a better look at who she is. **

**Other than that, I really hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think. **

**Just Plain Wedier**

Rosalee watched as Monroe continued fiddling with the strange device. He'd been cursing a storm and kept getting confused by the instructions.

"I told you to just let them do it, Monroe." She sighed, leaning against the table.

"And pay extra? You kidding me?" he told her as he stared at the contraption, "I'm a clockmaker, this is nothing."

"That's what you said two hours ago." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, it's delicate work." He said defensively, "There! I think this should do it!"

"Tenth times the charm after all." Rosalee joked, earning a look from him.

He smiled none the less and turned on the home security alert. A loud beeping sound emitted throughout the house and Rosalee shrieked covering her ears as Monroe practically threw the thing from him.

He quickly typed in the code and it stopped, "Well, at least it works." He nodded.

Rosalee waited and sure enough, Josie came running downstairs, practically tripping over her own feet. She was clutching her pillow pet and a blanket, her brown eyes wide, "Daddy?" she mumbled nervously.

"It's okay Josie." Rosalee said sweetly, coming to her, "Daddy was just making sure the alarm works." She explained, bending down and letting Josie sink into her.

Monroe smiled, happy that Rosalee had been with them the past two days. Josie hadn't left the house and Nick was not only dealing with the Rick issue, but all the chaos going on in Portland; zombies?! Hell no was Josie even stepping foot outside.

He quickly put the device on the wall by the back door. He made sure Josie could reach it.

It was a panic device in case the home security didn't work. If there was a problem, Josie, Monroe, or Rosalee would simply press the red panic button and help would arrive.

Monroe was still waiting on the order Nick had talked to him about. An Amber Alert GPS tracking device that Josie could attach to herself wherever she went. He made sure to get a pink one so she'd actually want to wear it. He'd been busy making sure she was in the system and that Nick and Hank had all of her information in case something happened. He remembered a time when he went safety gate crazy but now it felt even more insane, because his daughter was in serious danger.

With Rick having escaped from prison and Regina suddenly contacting her, it made Monroe edgy and extremely protective of his little girl.

He watched as Rosalee picked her up and carried her to the living room to turn on the TV to watch some cartoons. The past two days, though hectic, had truly brought Monroe and Rosalee much closer. Josie was scared, but the fact that Rosalee was there, really helped her. She'd been calling her 'Mommy' a lot more lately and Rosalee was getting used to it.

Monroe sighed as Rosalee came back in and smiled at him comfortingly. All he could do was form a small smile for her, "I promise once this chaos goes away, and it will, I'm taking you out to a nice dinner."

She grinned, "I'd like that."

He quickly kissed her, feeling so happy that she was here with them.

She frowned suddenly and he mimicked her, "You have to go." He said quietly.

She nodded, "I need to go to the shop and then get some things from the apartment. I'll be back in time for dinner, I promise." She told him.

He nodded, understanding, "Holler if you need anything, okay?"

She smiled and walked over to Josie, who'd miraculously fallen asleep on the couch, her index finger in her mouth. She noticed she did that when she was stressed, and boy had she been stressed lately. Not only had she been having trouble sleeping but she'd been crawling into Monroe's bed at night with Rosalee in it. Thankfully neither had done anything extracurricular, but it still made everyone edgy and tired.

She kissed her forehead quickly and then walked out quietly, waving to Monroe as she left.

He sighed, remembering that Rosalee had been helping Nick and Hank with the chaotic zombie outbreak. Monroe had as well, but since Rick was still on the loose, he'd stuck close to home more than anything.

He sat down next to his sleeping daughter and laid his head back, feeling a headache coming on.

He merely looked down at Josie and smiled at her, putting a hand on her back and rubbing it carefully. Drool was starting to fall onto her hand from sucking her finger and he tried prying it out. He never really encouraged thumb or finger sucking really, but he knew she only did it now because she was very upset.

She groaned in her sleep the minute he got her finger loose and he couldn't stifle a chuckle.

His phone vibrated and he felt the moment was ruined.

He rolled his eyes as he answered it, whispering, "Nick, you have terrible timing."

"Who's Nick?" his dad said on the other line, sounding disgruntled.

Monroe got up and shut his eyes in annoyance, "You also have bad timing, Dad." He muttered.

His dad sighed, "Look, I just called to check in."

"I know. And everything's fine. No sign of you know who." He said as he instinctually stared out the windows.

"Wouldn't put anything past this lunatic, you know how our kind gets."

"Don't I know it." Monroe muttered.

"Listen, I called because I really think your mother and I should be there to help you and-"

"Dad, that's not such a good idea right now." Monroe said with an edge to his voice.

His dad was silent and he heard him sigh, "And why not?"

"There's some stuff going on in Portland, some pretty bad stuff, and it's not safe for anyone really, especially Wesen." Monroe explained, looking at his sleeping daughter.

"Well, then here comes my next offer; you bring Josie here to stay with us for a while until it does calm down."

Monroe's stomach tightened at the thought of being separated from his little girl. Even if it was just a visit with her grandparents, it still felt like she was being taken from him like Regina used to do.

"Let's hold off on the visit until they spot Rick somewhere, okay Dad? I know you wanna see her and help but-"

"Just what the hell is going on with you lately, son?"

Monroe closed his eyes, feeling the headache coming back, "It's…it's nothing I'm just really stressed. But I'll be fine. Rosalee has been a big help and so has my friend Nick and so many others, trust me." He stressed, "I just don't want her uprooted at a time like this."

"Sounds fair, I guess." His dad said, sounding defeated, "But we are coming down soon, so you better prepare for that in the coming months, got it? Your mother is just going nuts here."

Monroe chuckled, "Deal Dad. I'm sorry, I just want to focus on Josie and Rosalee right now."

"Sounds like you two are getting serious?" his dad commented, "Can I ask how serious?"

Monroe smiled, "Josie calls her Mommy."

His dad was silent, "And you two are okay with that?"

"Hell yes! Rosalee is great with her and is totally okay. And as for me, hey, it's better than Regina."

"You're not wrong there son. It just…seems like you two are moving pretty fast. You sure that's a good thing for Josie right now?"

"Where's this coming from? You were like her biggest fan?" Monroe complained, getting defensive.

"I am a fan of her, I think it's great she's so good with Josie and that you two are doing great, but…"

"But what?" Monroe asked, getting suspicious.

"I'm just…I'm worried about other Wesen finding out and hurting you two. You know how interbreeding causes rifts with those fundamentalists out there."

"Relax Dad. We're doing fine."

"You said it yourself a lot's been going on. Hell, here in New Hampshire we've been having strange things happen, not to mention all the chaos in Germany when we visited."

"I understand Dad. But I promise, we're doing fine. And Josie loves Rosalee and I don't think I've ever seen her more happy."

His dad sighed, but finally relaxed and let a smile come into his voice, "I'm glad to hear it son. Just promise you'll be careful."

"I will Dad."

"Okay, tell the little squirt we'll see her soon."

"You bet."

They hung up and Monroe sighed, realizing his dad had a point; all the chaos within the Wesen community was getting bad and interbreeding was a big no-no. But he wasn't going to let that stop him from letting Rosalee be a mother to Josie, nor keep him from falling in love with her.

He was about to close his eyes again when his phone rang once more.

He groaned and answered it quickly, "Dad…" he muttered.

"Monroe! It's Nick!"

"Now my head really hurts." Monroe muttered, "What's going on?" he asked.

"We need you at Rosalee's shop…fast."

"What part of 'I'm keeping my daughter out of harm's way' do you not understand?" Monroe said, getting up none the less.

"You can bring her but makes sure she stays away. That or call Carly."

"With Rick out there? I don't think so." Monroe complained, "Not that she isn't a great sitter, believe me, she is, but I'm not letting her deal with another Rick fiasco-"

"Please Monroe, this could help Portland and Rosalee needs your help." Nick pleaded.

Monroe looked from Josie sleeping on the couch to his wall, trying to decide if leaving her with someone was a good idea or a bad one…

He sighed, "Okay, I'm heading over. I'm dropping her off at Carly's. At least if Jarold's there I'll feel somewhat better." He said, "Just…hang tight."

"Thank you, Monroe." Nick said, hanging up quickly.

Monroe hung up and looked down at Josie. He didn't know how long he'd be dealing with this zombie thing but from the sounds of it, it was getting worse. If Rosalee and Nick needed him, he knew he needed to be there for them. But one thing was for sure, he was not putting Josie in that situation.

He dialed Jarold's number and began getting Josie ready for her stay with them.

…

Josie couldn't remember a time being so quiet really; it had all felt so long ago. The relief of never having to see her mother again had let loose a torrent of five-year-old thoughts that could hardly be contained anymore. Once she'd begun speaking about what Rick had done to her did she finally feel as though her own soul was going back to feeling carefree and innocent. But now…now it just felt as though things were going to go so badly and it terrified her and clammed her up. She hated telling her father how sick she was of being cooped up, but at the same time she was terrified of even looking out a window for fear of seeing that horrible face that haunted her dreams almost every night.

Needless to say as Monroe dropped her off at Carly and Jarold's, she was dead silent. She'd hardly cried, she'd hardly eaten, and she didn't feel the need to make her presence known.

Her mind was in a fog as her dad kissed her goodbye and left her. Because Carly was still at school, Jarold was taking care of her, not that he minded. Considering he'd raised a little girl for many years he knew the drill, and he loved Josie like a niece. She knew that as much as he did, but it didn't ease her mood any.

After a while of her staring off into space did Jarold get concerned for her. Sometimes Carly would sit and stare off and come to crying, admitting she was remembering her own kidnapping and torture that she'd been through at the hands of fellow Coyotles.

Jarold felt helpless as he watched Josie. For his daughter it was easy to bring her back as he was her father and she sought safety in him. But Josie…her father wasn't here.

"Hey Dad!" Carly said as she came in, "Hi Josie!" she said excitedly when she saw her.

Josie blinked and Jarold was relieved to see color coming back to her face and a small smile forming.

Carly came over and hugged Josie while Jarold stared at the clock curiously, "Sweetie…didn't you have something after school?" he asked.

She shook her head, "They cancelled everything cause apparently there's a bunch of lunatics running around town tearing people apart." She said solemnly, "They're calling it the end of the world." she snorted.

"That sounds pretty serious…" Jarold admitted.

"Yeah right, probably some bath salt epidemic or something." She muttered as she put her bag down, "All I know is, I'm losing two extra hours of practicing for that decathlon."

Jarold rolled his eyes and woge'd when he heard something at the door. But he didn't recognize the smell.

Josie watched him and shrunk into Carly in fear.

"Stay here, girls." He whispered.

"What is it?" she asked him nervously.

"I smell something weird." He admitted, "Both of you go to the kitchen and stay there."

Carly picked up Josie and carried her to the other room.

Jarold went to go peek into the eyehole carefully. There was no one there.

He stepped back, wondering if it had been a bird or something when he heard a smash against the door.

He jumped in surprise and looked through the hole again to see somebody who looked…like a zombie!

"Carly! Get Josie upstairs and lock yourselves in the bathroom, go!" he yelled as he grabbed a fire poker and his phone. Carly ran past him with Josie, rushing upstairs.

Jarold called the police quickly but didn't even know how to begin to describe his situation other than reiterating that someone dangerous was trying to get in and he had two girls scared to death.

He hung up and threw the phone away from him as the banging continued. He suddenly heard another banging from the other side of the house and he turned nervously. He had to make a choice then; stay and try to fight? Or risk getting hurt and leaving Carly and Josie defenseless?

He woge'd and made his decision just as the door swung open.


	2. Chapter 2

Josie swore she heard her name being called. But that couldn't be right. She stared at the blackness in front of her; at least she thought she was staring. She could have her eyes closed for all she knew.

"Josie? Josie!" she suddenly felt a hard tap on her cheek, wondering who could have done it and how. She honestly liked this black abyss, there was nothing to scare her, nothing to bother her, and she felt somewhat safe.

"Josie! Honey! Wake up!"

She found herself blinking in spite of herself and squinted when the light hit her eyes. She suddenly heard more distinct sounds of heavy breathing, footsteps, and slamming against doors and walls. She looked around; feeling confused and could see Jarold and Carly looking at her concerned. Jarold had a nasty scratch on his arm, a tear in his sleeve indicated as much, and he had what looked like a bruise forming on his cheek. But despite all of that, he was at attention and locked away in the bathroom with the girls, ready to protect them against anything.

Josie tried remembering what was happening but all she could think was the minute she heard the door knocking, she sought Carly out and then everything went black. That had never happened to her before. Sure she would sometimes close her eyes and wish herself so hard to be away from the danger she would dream about a different place or try escaping into her own head, but never to where she forgot what was going on around her. It actually started to scare her a little.

"Who is it?" Josie asked Jarold, as she heard the knocks and tried not to let them take her back to that black abyss she seemed keen to go to.

Jarold didn't know what was up with Josie but it couldn't have been good. She'd been pale, and her eyes were blank, she hardly breathed, and all she did was stare straight ahead, ignoring everything around her. If they moved her, she did, but he didn't think she knew she was moving. Almost like sleepwalking. But he didn't have time to think about it now, because he was worried about the door breaking and those things getting in and hurting the girls.

He heard police sirens coming closer and breathed a sigh of relief; they were here!

"Hang on girls." He told them softly, getting in front of them to make sure nothing got through the door.

The banging continued and he really hoped the police would get there before the bathroom door opened. From what he'd just encountered he might be able to take out one or two with his own bare hands but that left his girls vulnerable to more attacks.

The door cracked and he could hear the snarling and grotesque moans from the other side.

Carly woge'd out of instinct with her dad and both stared at the door as fingers clawed through.

They suddenly heard a lot of yelling and shuffling outside the door and almost instantly the hands disappeared. They listened as more voices spoke clearly and grunting was heard.

Jarold walked over, shifting back into human form and put his ear carefully on the door.

BANG BANG BANG!

He shot back but rolled his eyes in relief when he heard the police calling for them, "We received your call, it's clear now!"

"Thank God." He muttered as he bent down to pick up Josie and grab hold of Carly's hand to open the door and let the officer escort them out. He watched as the strange people were dragged out, either drugged or knocked out it seemed. There were at least five; he'd battled three before heading up to the bathroom earlier.

"Sir, should we call an ambulance?" the officer asked.

"No…" Jarold said, "No, just um…just make sure none of those…those things return."

The officer nodded and they were led to the couch for questioning while another officer went to secure the area. Jarold took measure of his house and realized he had some cleaning up to do, but luckily, both girls were safe and they would be okay now.

While the officer asked questions that Jarold mostly answered, Josie was finally taken upstairs by Carly. She looked around at all the scratches on the wall and suddenly grew nervous; what if Rick was here.

She looked up to see an officer come out of one of the rooms and nod to Carly telling her he'd searched all the rooms and it was okay. Josie heard him, but after having been abducted, abused, and nearly killed by Rick and her mother countless times; it was hard to trust police. Nick was the only police she trusted, him and Hank.

She held on to Carly and squeezed tight, shaking her head and biting her lip.

"What's wrong?" Carly asked her gently, "It'll be okay, Josie, we're just gonna wait in here."

"No." Josie moaned, "Daddy…"

"Your dad is coming soon." Carly tried, "Why don't you lay down, okay?"

"R-Rick…" she whispered fearfully and Carly's eyes widened, "Where?"

"I don't know…" Josie whimpered, "I'm scared."

"Okay, I'll go get dad and he'll check, okay?"

Josie nodded, shaking. She just didn't want to be left alone right now, not with her dad gone and Rick out there looking for her.

"I need my Daddy." She cried.

Carly carried her back downstairs and looked to her dad worriedly, "Dad…Josie thinks…R-you know who is here…"

Jarold looked at them curiously but then it hit him.

He looked at the officer and nodded, "I need to take care of this."

The officer excused him and Jarold immediately went upstairs with the girls to sniff and look around. He wouldn't put it past that crazy lunatic to have tried coming in. Shoot his daughter was taken from her own room before and this nut job was sick enough to get out of prison and stay hidden.

He carefully walked through each room, while the girl watched him. He checked every window, closet bed, and corner. He came out smiling softly and nodded, "It's okay girls, Josie, you can rest now, he's not getting in. See those windows in Carly's room? They have alarms on them and a really good lock. And we'll be right here the whole time, okay?"

Josie nodded, but didn't feel any better. She was forced to lie down in Carly's bed and while they tucked her in, she did her hardest not to panic. She remembered her dad's yoga and tried breathing the way he did.

"I'll call your dad, okay?" Jarold said, "I bet he's on his way and when you wake up he'll be here."

Josie nodded and yawned. It was getting late and she'd just had a very strange day. She turned on her side and closed her eyes, wondering if the darkness would be like before.

She was actually looking forward to it, as strange as it was. She liked being alone in the darkness with no worries and away from what was happening; it was less scary than what was really going on and she didn't want to think about Rick or her mother.

She pictured her new mommy, Rosalee and smiled. When she woke up, she'd be safe in her own bed and Rosalee would be making pancakes with her dad again. Nick would be drinking coffee and watching the news and Hank would come by to get Nick to go to work. That was her family and that was where she wanted to stay. At least that was the last thought before she fell asleep.

….

Monroe winced when Rosalee tended to the cut on his head. Nick sure was deadly when poisoned. He didn't think he'd ever seen anything quite like it. He was just relieved they'd gotten him back and he'd be on the mend now. He already looked like he was getting some color back into his face and was breathing normally.

He suddenly heard his phone go off and looked at it. He nearly choked, realizing he had ten missed calls from Jarold. He flipped out, nearly knocking Rosalee over as he dialed Jarold's number back.

"Monroe?!" Jarold yelled, sounding relieved, "Thank God!"

"Jarold, oh man, I was dealing with…I just had…oh God, is Josie okay?" he panicked.

"She's fine, she's okay." Jarold answered, "But…we had…we had an incident today…man you would not believe it." He sighed to himself.

"Tell me about it." Monroe mumbled, "But, Josie's okay?"

"Yes, she's safe, but…she might be a little…upset."

"What did happen? It's not…it's not Rick is it?"

Rosalee and Hank looked over quickly as they heard the infamous name.

"No…" Jarold began and before Monroe knew it, he was listening to Jarold's day of dealing with the crazy zombie people. Monroe closed his eyes in anger, realizing he'd been so busy dealing with Nick that he had completely left his daughter behind. He knew she was in good hands, but she was probably scared to death and wondering where he was.

"Is she asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's been out since this evening, but…I think you should know something…"

"What?"

"Before the attack even happened, at least from what I was seeing, she would just sort of…black out or something. Like she was there but not really. At one point I had to tap her face just to get her to come back to the present. She looked confused when she came out of it too."

"She blacked out?" Monroe gasped. That wasn't like Josie really. Sure there were moments when she'd get scared when she was triggered, but she never just blacked out before.

"You sure she 'blacked out'?" he asked, "I mean, she didn't like pass out or anything?"

"No it's like…it's like I said, she was there, her eyes were open and she walked when Carly led her upstairs, but then she'd just stand or sit there staring at nothing and didn't seem to hear us at all. When she blinked, she got less pale and she seemed confused and scared."

Monroe looked at Rosalee who watched him curiously, "W-well…okay…I'll take her to a doctor or something. Hey, what happened right before she blacked out, do you remember? Any sound or something that might have-"

"Well, let me think…after you dropped her off, she just sort of seemed lost in thought, but then she really went pale and everything…let's see, the door knocked and then we heard more banging, but I don't know if that's what caused it."

"It was." Monroe groaned. Josie was terrified of knocks at the door, her mother being a key role in that, "That's her trigger mostly, but lately she'd been doing better."

"Well…sometimes they may seem like they're doing good but one trigger can really set them off. I know Carly was fine until she walked in the garage and saw a rope. She freaked out and ran back inside and asked me to get rid of it like it was a snake or something."

Monroe nodded, "Thanks Jarold. Listen, I'm on my way now to get her. Let me know if there's anything I can do, okay?"

"Relax, just a few scratches and broken locks and stuff, everything is fine. The girls are safe and I walked away with only a couple bruises, nothing big." Jarold laughed, "But…I wouldn't ignore what happened with Josie today…I think there's more going on in that little head than we all think."  
"I wouldn't doubt it." Monroe sighed as he grabbed his coat, "Thanks again, boy it's been a long night."

"You said it. I'll see you soon."

"Got it." Monroe said hanging up and turned to Rosalee as he put on his coat, "I'm going to get Josie…is he okay?" he asked Juliette who was sitting there watching Nick like a hawk.

She turned and nodded, "I'll be okay."

"Monroe…" Rosalee whispered coming towards him, "What's wrong with Josie?"

"I'll explain later…" he said, looking concerned, "But is it okay if I bring her here?"

"Absolutely, it's safe now." Rosalee nodded, "Go."

Monroe smiled quickly and left, too many questions buzzing in his head and worries for his daughter taking hold. This didn't sound good at all.

…

1 Week Later

Monroe held Josie's hand as he walked her into the office building. It was a strange place to have a child counselor really, but hey, you got to have an office somewhere. This was one of the only experts he could find that dealt with children and PTSD under his insurance. Josie was doing a little better, but once Jarold had told him about her blacking out, he began to notice how isolated she was, even from him, Rosalee, even Nick. Nick was back and forth at Juliette's because he wanted to take it slow, but he wasn't around as often.

Josie seemed to find places to hide more so than usual and stay as quiet as possible. She'd gone back to school only to have her teacher approach him about her paranoia going outside or hearing knocks on the door. She knew the situation with Rick, but it wasn't good that Josie was acting strange in class. He knew it was serious when on her third day back; she wet herself because she was too scared to go to the restroom alone. She was so devastated after getting teased about it; she didn't want to go back to school.

Well, hopefully after today he'd get some answers. She seemed edgy being outside and little things caused her to jump and he was painfully reminded of when he was fighting for custody, how she held so much inside and got so scared that she wasn't herself. He did not want that happening again, not after she'd been doing so well.

He led her inside the building and found a sign with the office numbers in the building. He found who he was looking for and then led Josie to the elevator that was actually made of glass so when they went up, they could see fountains and tropical decorations throughout the lobby below them. Josie for a minute actually braved letting his hand go to look over the edge and smile down at the view. It was very pretty.

She heard the chime of the elevator door opening and immediately turned around to clutch her dad's hand again, her index finger going to her mouth; another bad habit he'd never wanted to see again.

He knew it wasn't so much of her not wanting to grow up, but it was really a nervous habit she had. He'd see bite marks on her finger and knew she was actually biting her finger and not so much sucking on it. He'd tried asking her why she did it but she'd shrugged and answered that she didn't know why, it just felt better.

He found the office and opened the door and walked inside to see a very small lobby, illuminated by a few lamps giving it a soft glow. He noticed a toy box in the corner and some chairs lining the walls with magazines on a small coffee table nearby. Pictures on the wall depicted art with children and parents, giving the place a nice feel. He noticed a window up ahead with a blonde woman doing some paperwork behind it. He walked up to it and she looked up smiling, "Monroe?" she asked kindly.

He nodded.

"Okay, I'll just need you to fill out some forms here and is Josie with you?" she asked, standing a little to spot Josie still holding his hands, but eyeing the toy box in the corner, "Hi!" she waved and Josie turned to look up and wave shyly.

Monroe took the forms and went to sit down near the toy box so she could look through it. He was glad to see that at least she was still playful and curious.

He sighed, filling out the form that of course had to have his as well as Josie's information. He was amazed at how much information he needed and was relieved to get to the part explaining why he was there. It was almost embarrassing really, filling out a form for your kid and having to admit they have problems. He rubbed his head multiple times as he filled it out, feeling heat pool into his cheeks every time he had to check a symptom she had. But he knew if he didn't do it, no one could help her, not even him and he knew his daughter inside and out; at least he thought he did.

He got up to go turn the form in and sighed, sitting back down next to Josie who was still playing with toys like she would at the doctor's office.

He smiled at her and watched as she found a puzzle to play with. He remembered teaching her how to use puzzles when she was only two. Sitting on the floor with her and explaining how they worked, only to have her drool and chew on the pieces instead. Over time, he'd give her a puzzle after naps that were age appropriate and make them harder when it looked like she was getting bored. She came to finally understand how shapes and colors worked and now was doing puzzles that had over twenty four pieces to give her a challenge.

He was brought back to the present when the door opened and a short haired blonde opened it and smiled at them. She looked fairly young, at least younger than Monroe. Her eyes were a very deep blue and the glasses on her face framed them nicely. He was surprised to see she merely wore dark pants and a comfortable blouse. Of course when working with kids, he supposed, she wouldn't need to cake on makeup or anything.

"Josie?" she smiled, dimples showing on her freckled cheeks.

Josie looked up nervously and then saw her dad.

Monroe nodded and held out his hand as he stood, she came over and took it, smiling at him, "Mr. Monroe, I assume?"

He nodded again, not sure if he could make his voice work.

"I'm Dr. Young. You can call me Dr. Abby if you want. Why don't you two come right on back and we'll get started."

"Come on Josie." He encouraged as the little girl put the puzzle away quickly and got up to take her dad's hand. She assumed it was simply a doctor visit. Her dad did say it was like that.

They followed her down a short hallway and into a sliding door she opened quietly, ushering them inside her office. As she closed the door Monroe watched her, trying his hardest not to feel like the crapiest parent in the world.

She walked forward and looked at Josie, bending down a little, "Josie, why don't you explore my office for a little bit and look around while I talk to your dad. Is that okay?"

Josie looked up at her dad who nodded at her encouragingly. Josie looked around her and did notice there were toys scattered around, a dollhouse in the corner, a kitchen and tool play set, cars and trains, even a sensory table like at school. She looked by the couch and noticed an art easel and saw all the art supplies. It really was a fascinating room, much like a school playroom really. The dollhouse caught her attention and she walked to it quickly, looking at the set up and then rifling through a box that had little people and doll furniture in it.

As Monroe and Dr. Young watched her, she began asking him personally why he brought Josie in. He took a deep breath as he explained the past abuse, the custody battle, and then the sexual assault by Rick. As he talked about how Rick had recently escaped and it bothering Josie, Dr. Young seemed to glance from him to Josie very quickly, but also kept amazing eye contact with him, especially as he disclosed Josie's abuse.

She finally nodded sadly when he finished and then smiled softly, "I can tell it's taken just as much a toll on you and I am very glad you decided to bring her in. We'll see if we can't get rid of some of that anxiety and help give her and you some comfort and power back."

"I'd-we'd like that." He smiled, nodding happily, "If you could, oh boy, it'd be such a relief."

She chuckled lightly and then looked over at Josie who was lost in the world of dolls it seemed.

"As you can see, I'm a licensed play therapist; I also have animal therapy days if you are ever interested in group sessions. I work closely with children and families who have been through trauma. I'd like to just start today off by getting to know Josie. I will have individual sessions with her, and if you are willing, yourself and then of course, a session with both of you. I'd also encourage you and Josie to come to group meetings where kids play together and have group time while the parents go to a separate group. Sometimes we combine."

"That sounds incredible…then she could meet other kids who…who might have…" Monroe smiled, feeling the weight lift from his shoulders considerably. He never even considered letting Josie meet with other kids who've been in her situation before.

Dr. Young couldn't have been happier. Most parents refused to believe anything was wrong with their child or were too embarrassed as parents to admit that as a family, things were going downhill. But Mr. Monroe was doing a good thing acknowledging his daughter's fears and doing something to fix them. She made sure to make a note to tell Mr. Monroe every time he brought Josie in that as a parent he was doing a great thing for his daughter. Sometimes the focus was always so much on the child that the parents and their issues were forgotten.

"Let's see what she's up to, shall we?" she smiled and Monroe followed her. She motioned for Monroe to sit on the couch nearby while she knelt next to Josie who was playing house with the dolls. Monroe watched as she scribble quick little notes on a pad and then looked at Josie and asked her what she was doing.

"This is Daddy and this is me." She smiled, showing Abby a grown up male doll and a little girl doll with brown hair like Josie. Josie then found a female woman doll with reddish hair, "This is Rosalee, she's my new mommy."

"Oh! Can you tell me more about Rosalee?"

"Yes, Daddy and Rosalee are in love and Rosalee takes care of me and Daddy. She owns a…a…Daddy? What does Rosalee do?" she asked Monroe.

"She owns an apothecary, a spice shop." He smiled, nodding to Abby, "We met quite a few months ago."

"I used to not like Rosalee cause I was afraid she was like my other mommy. But she's better than her so I love Rosalee more and call her Mommy."

"Does she live with you and your father?"

"No. Not yet, but she stays in Daddy's room sometimes."

Monroe cleared his throat awkwardly and Abby merely laughed, "She sounds like a very nice lady and you sound like you really like her."

"Yes, she is the best." Josie agreed as she put her happy little family together at a dinner table.

"Do you have any friends at school, Josie?"

"I have Ellie, her daddy and my daddy are friends with Nick."

"Who's Nick?"

"Daddy's friend. He's been staying with us but he's gonna leave soon so Rosalee can move in."

Monroe rolled his eyes but found himself nodding and shrugging, "Something like that."

"Do you like Nick?"

"Yes! This is Nick!" she smiled as she found another male doll to put at the dinner table, "He's a cop, so he helps protect me."

"I see. You sound like you have quite a few friends."

"I almost forgot Hank and Carly and her daddy!" Josie gasped as she found a black male doll and a teenage girl doll with one more male doll. She then found another female doll and put them all together in the kitchen, "See, Carly is my babysitter and her daddy watches me too. Hank is Nick's partner. He's a cop too and he watches me sometimes. That's Juliette. She and Nick were fighting cause she was in a coma, but now they love each other again so they're gonna be together."

"What a family you have." Abby smiled.

"Yes, I love all of them. But I love Daddy and Mommy the most."

Monroe smiled as he put his head on his hand, leaning against the armrest on the couch.

"Josie what are your favorite colors?"

"Purple and pink!" she said proudly.

"Do you have any special toys?"

"Yes! Lots! Luna and Fat Pony and Lexi and Polly Princess. I have lots of toys I take care of."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Chocolate!"

"What was your other mother's name?"

"Regina…she's a bitch."

Monroe stared at Josie and gasped audibly, "Josie! We don't-"

Abby held a hand up and merely smiled softly at him, "Josie, what's the last thing you remember about your other mother, Regina?"

Josie continued playing with the dolls, but she was frowning now and moving them closer together. At first Monroe thought she was going to ignore the question until she answered it, "She slapped me and told me to shut up and let Rick touch me." She said almost bitterly.

"Have you heard from your mother since then?"

"I only saw her at court where she called me a bitch so I told on her. I hope she dies in jail. Rosalee's a better mommy than her."

Abby nodded, "What's something you and Rosalee do together?"

Josie finally smiled and put the little girl in the red haired dolls lap, smoothing their hair, "She lets me play with her spices and teaches me how to mix things. She also reads me stories before bed. She and Daddy took me to the zoo!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun. Now, I'm just a little confused…who is Rick?"

Josie suddenly froze, her eyes widening and Monroe tensed, ready to jump in and hug her or something but Abby merely watched and waited.

"He's bad." Josie said quickly and very quietly, "He's bad."

She looked over and found a bin full of animals in it. She walked over and pulled out a wolf that had sharp teeth and showed Abby, "This is Rick."

"The Big Bad Wolf." She nodded, "Is that what you think he is?"

"It's what he is." Josie nodded, but then turned and pulled out more wolves, "But this is Daddy, see this wolf is nicer and smiling."

"Interesting…" Abby commented.

"But sometimes if Daddy is mad he can look like that wolf, but he doesn't mean to do it."

"I understand." Abby nodded as she jotted down some quick notes. She smiled as Josie tossed the mean wolf back in the bin and then cradled the nicer wolf, walking back to the doll house.

"What are some things you and your father like to do together?" Abby asked, getting ready to end the session but making sure she ended it on a good note.

"Daddy teaches me how to cook and make clocks. He also goes on adventures with me in the woods. We walk a long ways and pretend we're in a different country! He also takes me to see Laurie Berkner and does yoga with me."

"It sounds like you two enjoy doing things together." Abby nodded.

"Yeah, Daddy don't like to sit still long." Josie giggled, "He's going to make Rosalee another dinner and everyone is going to come over to eat." She smiled happily as she arranged a bunch of dolls around the table.

"From what I see you have so many people who care about you and who spend time with you. Do you feel safe with them?"

"Yes. They watch over me." She nodded, "But it used to be just Daddy or Aunt Angelina and nobody else."

"Well, Josie, our time is up, but before you go I want you to think about school and next time we can talk about how you might feel safe at school so you feel better. Sound okay?"

"Okay." Josie nodded as she put the toys away carefully.

Abby got up and walked over to Monroe who was speechless at what he'd just seen.

"Amazing what toys can bring out in children, isn't it?" Abby chuckled.

"That's the most she's ever…opened up right away to anyone." Monroe commented, "I had no idea how angry she was."

Abby nodded, "There was bound to be an anger phase and she's obviously still in that phase, but we'll get her through that. I'd like to meet with you tomorrow if possible without Josie, are you willing to do that?"

"Yes! Anything to help her. But…don't you need more from her today?"

"We try not to jump right into it so much the first time. With kids they move on to the next subject pretty quickly, but it's still buried there. Over time, we'll be doing more extensive work with the trauma. For now, I just wanted a feel for her initial reaction to things and how she is feeling with others at this moment."

"Wow…that is…that is just incredible." He nodded, "Thank you! I don't even know where to-"

"She's going to be fine. It'll take time, but she is going to be fine. It sounds like she has positive people in her life which will make all the difference. You're doing a good job."

Monroe heard that from countless people but hearing it from an expert really finally sunk in this time and he couldn't keep himself from standing straighter and feeling his chest lift proudly. He was doing a good job with Josie!

"Thank you!" he smiled.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow and Josie," she smiled as she turned to see Josie coming over to her dad, "I'll see you in a couple days; remember all those people you keep close, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled, "Can I play with the toys again?"

"Absolutely." Abby nodded, "That is why they are there!"

Josie looked happily around and wondered what she'd play with next time as her dad led her out, looking much more relaxed than before and even Josie was feeding off of that happy energy.

As he got her to the car and buckled her up he gave her a soft look, "How about you, me and Rosalee go somewhere nice to eat. What do you say?"

"Like Chuck E Cheese?" she smiled.

"Nah, I'm thinking…a really nice place. There's a new restaurant that just opened, Raven and Rose…you can get dressed up and we'll all go and celebrate."

"Yeah! That sounds good Daddy!" she smiled as he finally got into the car and drove off, feeling extremely happy with himself. It was nice after weeks of being stressed out and worrying about Josie to just smile and have fun for a change. Something told him that doctor was going to work wonders for his little girl.

**A/N: The Therapist is based off of many amazing play therapists who work wonders with kids. I am getting my masters and am hoping to specialize in this field. Please keep in mind, leave this to the experts when working with trauma; every child and adolescent in different. I just wanted to show you all how amazing therapy really is and that there is always more than one technique that can help and there are a variety of great therapists who may or may not work for everyone. That's all!**

**Another note: Sorry this is taking so long. I am doing five different stories and am completing finals right now, so updates are scattered. Thank you for being patient! Next chapter will come soon I promise!**


	3. Chapter 3

Josie had no clue what the menu said but lucky for her, her dad knew what she liked. He'd told her that this place was expensive and fancy but he wanted to spend their first time there together with Rosalee to celebrate just being together. That and he really wanted to ask Rosalee a very important question and he decided that it was best that Josie was a part of that process. Monroe felt rather flustered as the evening progressed; the time to spill the beans was drawing near and he really was nervous about what he would be asking Rosalee. Josie sat in her booster seat next to them and was all prettied up for the night. She was usually very well behaved and after seeing the counselor both were feeling a lot better. He'd gotten her back in school and both focused on what made her feel safe. Today was just as tough but she did well considering her snafu the week prior.

"So…" Monroe started finally and Rosalee looked up after giggling about something with Josie.

"So…" she repeated, grinning from ear to ear.

"Nick is finally moving out." Monroe said.

"He is?" Josie asked, looking very devastated by this news.

"Yeah, he and Juliette are much better so he's going to go live in his home again." Monroe explained, "It's actually a very good thing."

Josie still looked sad but nodded. Nick did look a lot happier now and he really wasn't in her house as often.

"But…" Monroe said, this time looking at Rosalee, "I was actually thinking…you know…just thinking…" he practically stuttered and did his best to look anywhere but at Rosalee for a moment, "Well, out loud now really…but…since Nick is back with Juliette and you're still renting your brothers old apartment, which by the way is a great apartment! I'm not saying that it's not-"

"Uh huh…" she nodded, grinning at Monroe.

"Well-"

Just then a waiter came over with a dish of tartlets and looked kindly at them, explaining what it was and that it was compliments of the chef. He then smiled at Josie and asked if she would like more chocolate milk to which Josie nodded enthusiastically and replied with a very polite 'thank you'. The waiter seemed fond of how well behaved she was in the restaurant and gave her a very big smile, "Your daughter is one of the most lovely girls I've ever met. She is a delight!"

"Thank you!" Monroe beamed proudly.

"Thank you so much!" Rosalee said as well.

Josie smiled happily at her dad as though she were told she was a princess and he knew she was simply glad that because she was so well behaved she most likely would be getting dessert.

He left with a smile and Rosalee put a tart on Josie's plate as well as her own. Her father however picked one up and smelled it, realizing it had beef in it. He seemed almost blissful as he took a whiff of the succulent meat.

Rosalee took a bite and immediately complimented it, "Wow…that is really good!" she nodded.

Josie picked at hers a little and then looked up at her dad nervously, "Daddy it has meat in it."

"I know…" he whined, "But oh, the good old days…" he sighed.

"Ah ah!" Rosalee immediately intervened, "No time for you to fall off the meat wagon now. Here, I'll save you!" she smiled as she took it from him, and then noticed Josie looking longingly at the appetizer, "You think it's okay if Josie and I share?"

He sighed and looked over at Josie who stared pitifully at the dish and then smiled, "Okay, just this once. Daddy's got a promise to keep."

Rosalee split it with her and grinned when Josie took a bite and practically melted, "Mmm." She breathed, "Daddy, it's really good."

"Thanks, that's very helpful, sweetie." He chuckled.

Rosalee giggled and helped her finish the tart. Monroe then decided to continue his previous conversation with her.

"Anyways…" he continued, "My house has a lot of closet space."

"Yes." Rosalee agreed as she observed Monroe cautiously.

"Which means that you could totally have more room…in my closets than in your apartment."

"You want me to move my clothes into your closet?" she asked innocently and gave him a wink.

Monroe smiled when she giggled and then gave her a look, "Okay, I can see you are gonna make me work for this, aren't you?"

"I'm kind of enjoying it." She laughed.

"Yeah well…I've been thinking that maybe we should think about, maybe, moving in together."

Josie looked up just then, back and forth between the two, "Rosalee can move in with us Daddy?" she asked.

He smiled at her and nodded, "Would that be something you're okay with Josie?"

Josie looked to Rosalee with such hope in her eyes then, "Will you be my mommy too?" she asked Rosalee who seemed a little floored with the question but took a breath and looked at Monroe.

"I think…" she nodded, "That moving in would be a great step for all of us." She said as she looked back at Josie.

Monroe caught her gaze again and finally said what he'd been thinking for months on end, "It's just…because I am starting to…no…I am in love with you." Monroe told her softly. And although he did sound nervous she knew how much he meant it. His eyes always spoke volumes when she looked into them and for this one moment, the minute he braved telling her those words against all odds, she knew how much he did love her. And Josie wanting her to be her mother dug home that Monroe wouldn't just fall in love with anyone, it had to be the one that Josie wanted as well. She loved Josie, more than anything in the world, and she loved Monroe just as much.

Fighting back tears of joy she smiled and took his hand, "That's a relief." She managed, "Because I love you too. Both of you." She said looking into Monroe's eyes, "And I would love nothing more than to be a part of your family."

Josie smiled happily as Rosalee reached out to hold her chin gently, "And I would be honored and complete every day that you call me 'Mommy'."

Monroe smiled, tears threatening to come to his eyes as he watched how elated his daughter looked. He hadn't seen her that happy in so long and God how he hated every second she was hurt. But now she had a chance; a chance to be happy and have a real family with no worries. Monroe and Rosalee would look after her. They would be a family; complete and content.

"Monroe?"

Everyone looked up as a middle-aged couple came over.

"Sam!" Monroe smiled as he stood up and shook his hand.

"Hey, it's been a while!" the blonde man said as he smiled at Monroe, "You remember Kimber?" he asked as he introduced the brunette standing next to him. She grinned and shook his hand as well.

"Nice to see you!" Monroe smiled at them both, "This is Rosalee and you remember Josie?" Monroe asked.

"Wow! This is Josie? No way! She got big!" Sam smiled as he looked at the grinning little brunette in the booster seat, "How old are you now? I haven't seen you since you were about…this big!" he said jokingly.

"She's five now." Monroe nodded, "And in a much better place." He added in a quieter voice.

"God, that's wonderful." Sam said, shaking his head, but grinning, "Hard to believe how time flies, it's been a while."

"It has." Monroe agreed.

"This guy is a genius, see this watch?" he showed Rosalee, "Was my grandfather's and he made it work like new!"

Josie took a look along with her dad, "Daddy is that a real chronograph?"

Everyone raised their eyebrows, obviously impressed, save for Monroe who had always taught his daughter watches and clock technology, sometimes letting her help with less fragile ones.

"Look at that!" Kimber complimented, "Oh she is going to be such a smart cookie!"

"Just like her dad! Pure genius!" Sam added.

"She's right, though." Monroe said proudly, "One of the original chronographs…" he then went on to explain to the others and for his own daughters benefit the beauty and technology of the rare watch.

"Like I said, genius!" Sam laughed, "Well, hey, I just wanted to say hello and Josie looks great, I can't tell you how glad I am to see her looking so well; and hey, you as well."

"Thanks Sam, you enjoy your night."

"You as well!" Sam smiled, "I'll see you around, we'll have to catch up!"

"Absolutely, I'll call you!" Monroe said as they walked off. He then smiled at Rosalee and Josie who both looked at him expectantly. He took Rosalee's hand again and Josie finally hopped in her seat a little, "Can I have dessert now?"

"You haven't even had dinner!" he laughed.

Rosalee chuckled as Josie shrugged innocently. She had a feeling she was going to really love living with these two!

…..

Bud brought a huge cake inside and all Josie could do was want to vomit. Monroe was shocked because it was a delicious homemade chocolate cake that Bud's wife made and Josie would have been on that thing in seconds, but for some reason, she turned green instead. She woke up that morning coughing and told Monroe her tummy hurt so he let her skip school. He wondered if she just needed some extra rest was all but she was still refusing to eat and her temperature spiked a little. He didn't want Ellie to get sick so Bud didn't bring her. Josie was up in her room, disappointed that she couldn't enjoy the festivities that would ensue below her. Today Nick was coming to get the last of his stuff and officially move out. Monroe had planned a huge celebration on his homecoming with Juliette and everyone had been invited. Josie had kept the secret so well even though he knew there were moments she just wanted to tell Nick everything. But now that she was feeling sick, she was missing out on all the fun and felt very bad.

Nick and Monroe carried boxes down and Nick looked over at her room curiously, "Is she okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, I think she might have picked up a bug or something." Monroe shrugged, "I scheduled a doctor's appointment for tomorrow so she should be fine."

"Bummer." Nick commented. He then looked at Monroe with concern after learning that Blutbad's were actually exploding, "You okay?"

"Yeah!" Monroe chuckled, "Kinda sad you're leaving but…at the same time…"

"Not really." Nick nodded knowingly and laughed, "Look, I can't thank you enough for…for everything." He said, shaking Monroe's hand.

"Hey, it's the least I could do. Without you, Josie wouldn't even be here." Monroe told him, "And she loved having you with us."

"Not gonna lie, I'll miss her. Promise you'll let me babysit again?" he chuckled.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves." Monroe joked as he piled Nick with boxes.

"Well gee; you're a lot of help!" Nick laughed through the cardboard.

"Oh, you want me to help?" Monroe teased, "Here let me get this one…"

"SURPRISE!"

Nick dropped the box and smiled as all of his friends; Rosalee, Bud, Hank, and even Juliette came out from behind Monroe's kitchen.

Nick laughed as Juliette came over to kiss him and Monroe clapped him on the back.

Bud brought out a huge cake decorated like a suitcase that said "Homeward Bound" on it. Everyone was excited to dig in and celebrate their victory in the past months working as a team.

"I'll make sure I save a piece for Josie and put it in the fridge." Bud told Monroe.

"Aw, thanks." Monroe smiled, "She's really disappointed she couldn't come down, but I don't wanna risk anyone getting sick or her getting sicker."

"Don't blame you, those bugs can be nasty." Juliette commented.

"I don't know if it's so much a bug as it is just a really bad stomach ache." Rosalee commented.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"Not sure," she answered, "but all day she's complained about her stomach hurting and she may have a slight fever, but I gave her some ginger and chamomile and a lot of other things to help settle it and if anything she said she's feeling worse. Yet she's not flu-like."

"Something she ate?" Hank suggested.

"Maybe but normally you'd just throw it up or…you know…" Monroe admitted hoping he didn't gross anyone out even though he'd seen quite a few gross things in his day, "But it's pretty strange, she's never had that problem before."

Nick and Hank exchanged a dark look for a moment but didn't want to press it. Josie wasn't a Blutbad, she was human, there was no way it could be what they'd seen. And besides they didn't even know if she'd eaten anywhere bad at all.

"Well I hope she feels better." Juliette said, sounding hopeful, "I told her I'd take her to the rabbit farm later on."

"Oh God, please no more rabbits!" Monroe practically yelled. One was plenty. At the moment, Lola was happy in her hutch outside but Josie loved having her in her room in the cage. Monroe always made little salads for the rabbit but it was tough keeping up with the poop machine and not eating it.

Everyone laughed until they heard moaning behind them. They all turned to see a very pale looking Josie standing there holding her stomach and crying. But what startled them the most was that there was blood on the front of her nightdress and dribbling down her chin.

"Josie?!" Monroe gasped as he came to her. She doubled over in pain and vomited again, only it was mostly blood.

"Oh my God!" Rosalee cried as everyone rushed to help.

"I'm calling an ambulance." Hank said as he got his phone out.

"Monroe…I need you to tell me what she ate." Nick said quickly, praying what he thought wasn't true.

"I-I don't know! She didn't even eat today!" Monroe cried, panicking.

Rosalee was able to recover from the shock quicker and looked at Nick, "We were at Raven and Rose yesterday." She said quickly, "She had chocolate milk, a small vegetarian spaghetti dish, and a small chocolate cake."

"Rave and Rose?" Nick asked, suddenly feeling his own stomach drop.

"Yeah, why?" Monroe asked as he picked her up carefully and held her against him. She was sobbing in pain and screaming as though she were being stabbed, holding onto her dad's neck for dear life. All Monroe could do was hold her back and pray the ambulance got there soon.

"He said Raven and Rose?" Hank said as he walked over to Nick, "She needs to get medical attention and fast!"

"Why? What happened?" Monroe gasped as Josie let loose another scream.

Nick walked over and Rosalee tried shushing Josie and smoothing her hair while Juliette found a wet towel and tried wiping her face.

"Two Blutbaden were found dead in trees with their stomach's exploded." He said quietly.

"They were Blutbaden?" Monroe gasped.

"Both ate at Raven and Rose." Nick told him.

"Oh my God!" Rosalee gasped, "You think…"

"What did you eat Monroe?" Nick asked.

"I…I ate uh…vegetarian-"

"Wait! There was something else Josie ate!" Rosalee cut in, "Those beef tartlets that we shared because you couldn't have them."

"What?" Nick asked.

"They were compliments of the chef." Rosalee explained, "I shared with Josie because she wanted to try them, but Monroe didn't."

"Oh my God!" Monroe gasped.

"Whatever was in that tartlet…it must only affect Blutbads." Rosalee said.

"But…Josie's not a Blutbad." Hank said, sounding confused.

"And from the looks of it she's vomiting out something instead of…imploding…" Nick said.

"It's in her genes." Rosalee explained and Juliette nodded in agreement.

"Same is true of dog and cat breeds, especially mutts." Juliette added, "Like a dog that looks like a purebred beagle, but it may have traits of a…german shepherd even if it doesn't resemble one."

"Monroe and Regina have a long line of Blutbad's. Josie may be human, but technically on the inside she has Blutbad traits. And if there's a food that Blutbad's react badly to, then chances are she will too." Rosalee confirmed.

They heard sirens and saw the flashing lights outside and Monroe carried her to the ambulance, still looking panicked.

"I'm going with Monroe." Rosalee said as she grabbed her purse and their coats.

"Wait, Rosalee…these…'attacks', they were found in trees with their stomachs exploding all over the place…but there was no indication of vomiting." Nick said.

"Her body may react differently than Blutbaden because she is human." Rosalee tried explaining, "But I'll go to my shop later to see what it is that caused this. Maybe the doctors will catch something." She said.

"Good luck and I'll meet you guys there later." Nick said as Bud cleaned up and Juliette and Hank grabbed their coats.

Nick watched as Josie was placed on a stretcher in the ambulance and hooked up. Monroe was explaining everything as well as he could to the paramedic as his hands never left contact with Josie. Rosalee hopped inside the vehicle quickly and before anyone could say anything they were off.

"Come on Nick, we need to hurry." Juliette panted as she rushed to the car. Nick followed her, wondering who on earth was attacking Blutbaden and why. It didn't make sense.

….

Instead of celebrating with cake at Monroe's house, everyone was now sitting together in the waiting room. Monroe was pacing and muttering angrily to himself and Rosalee was trying to go through in her head what could possibly have been in those tartlets to make Josie so sick and possibly kill Monroe. Nick sat holding Juliette's hand as her leg shook anxiously and Hank, like Nick was debating what on earth could be happening and why. Bud had gone home to alert his family of what had happened and warn the other Eisbeiber's about Raven and Rose just in case.

Monroe's phone rang and he answered it, "Hello?" he said almost exhaustedly.

Everyone looked up as he spoke and he suddenly gasped, "I-I'm sorry I haven't heard from him...You sure? Okay I will." He hung up and suddenly looked as though everything were coming together in his mind.

Nick got up, "Monroe?"

"That was Kimber…Sam's wife…she said he's missing. Nick he's Blutbaden and he was eating at Raven and Rose yesterday…"

Nick's eyes widened and he and Hank gave each other a look nervously.

"I'll see if I can track his cell phone." Hank said as he walked away.

The doctor came out just then and Monroe practically grabbed the guy for answers.

"She's okay." He reassured them, "She had a very, very severe reaction to something she must have eaten…like it was just tearing at her stomach tissue…but we managed to clean her out."

Monroe sighed with relief.

"We're going to keep her for a few days for observation…to be honest I've never seen anything quite like this in my life. We thought it could be an appendix issue but when we did tests it showed it was all in her stomach. She's very lucky you brought her in."

"Is she awake?"

"She won't be awake for at least another hour. But we won't be letting anyone back for at least a few more hours just to be sure. You're welcome to stay but you can't go back for a while."

"Nick!" Hank called, "We found him! He's at a park!"

Monroe turned to Rosalee, looking conflicted.

"Monroe, she'll be fine, you go." She said, "I'll stay."

Monroe wasn't so sure but then nodded, "Okay, just…please call me if anything happens."

"Don't worry, go!" Rosalee pushed and watched as he ran out with Nick and Hank. Juliette came over to Rosalee looking worried and Rosalee managed a smile for her. In spite of everything that was happening, she had to thank her lucky stars that Monroe hadn't eaten the tartlets and that at least Josie reacted differently and would be okay. But she knew she needed to figure out what the mysterious culprit was causing this.

"Juliette, I'm going to my shop to get something really quick…can you stay?"

"Yes, please just do what you need to do, I'll be here." Juliette told her firmly. Rosalee decided it was time to dig out some books. She'd be doing a lot of reading while waiting for Josie to recover.

…

When Josie woke up she was surrounded by wires and strange machines. The lights were too bright and she felt numb and groggy. She almost forgot what had happened until it all came back in a blur of feeling intense stomach pain and seeing lots of blood, the metallic taste intermingled with vomit made her cringe at the memory. Her throat was sore and her stomach began feeling as though it were on fire, like something had scratched it.

Doctors and nurses would come in and out and would ask her stupid questions to make sure she was awake and aware. She was getting annoyed when the fifth doctor came and tried speaking to her and did some eye tests and hearing tests.

She wanted her daddy and mommy and no one seemed to understand that.

It felt like forever when they finally wheeled her to another room and got her situated. Once they left her she suddenly felt lonely and scared. It was very quiet and she didn't understand what was happening to her. Not to mention she hadn't seen her daddy or mommy yet.

Before she could stop them tears came to her eyes and she sobbed. She really hadn't been alone in weeks due to Rick being on the loose but now here she was all alone in a hospital room completely weak and defenseless.

The door opened and she prayed it was her daddy or mommy but it was actually Juliette.

"Oh…" Juliette breathed sadly coming over and putting her coat and purse down on a chair, "Josie, sweetie, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"I'm scared!" she cried.

"Don't be scared, you're all right. The doctors made you all better!" Juliette promised, rubbing her arm gently.

"Where's Daddy? Rosalee?" she sobbed.

"Your dad had to go find a friend and Rosalee is just getting some things, but she'll be here real soon, I just talked to her."

"Is Rick here?" she cried.

"R-Rick? Who-?" Juliette wondered aloud and then she remembered and shook her head quickly, "No! He's definitely not here and he is not getting in, I promise!"

She did everything she could for nearly fifteen minutes to soothe Josie and was relieved when Rosalee walked in carrying a bag and a ton of books under her arm. She looked winded and exhausted but managed a smile when she saw Josie.

Juliette moved so Rosalee could come over. She quickly took some things out of the big bag and Josie cried with joy when she saw Luna, Lexi and Fat Pony.

Rosalee made sure all her animals surrounded her and gave her forehead a kiss before sitting down. Josie was finally starting to feel better now that her mommy was here. Not to mention she'd gone home just to get her favorite animals so she would feel better!

Juliette picked up the book and rifled through some pages, "What are these?" she asked.

Rosalee sighed, "I brought whatever I didn't get a chance to dig through at the shop. I'm trying to identify the mushroom that affects Blutbaden." She explained.

"It's a mushroom?" Juliette asked.

"Yes…" Rosalee answered, "At first I was wondering if it was a spice in the beef but then I remembered there were mushrooms in it, so I started there. Turns out there are way too many different kinds of mushrooms and only so much research on Blutbaden weaknesses."

"You know…Nick and I were talking about this case…only…I didn't really make the connection with Josie because she didn't have the same symptoms."

"What do you mean?" Rosalee asked her.

"Gastric dilatation volvulus, kind of like bloat. A lot of animals get it. Basically their insides burst." Juliette explained.

"Wait a second!" Rosalee gasped as she tossed her book on the ground and found another one, "I've heard of that!"

She flipped some pages and Juliette watched as Josie began drifting off to sleep.

"I found it!" Rosalee cried happily, "Okay, here it is; Völlige Verzweiflung _or_ the black despair mushroom."

Juliette came over and looked over her shoulder to look at the pages.

"It is rare and mostly found in the black forest." Rosalee read, "It is similar to Ophiocordyceps unilateralis from the tropics, which attacks carpenter ants, causing them to climb into trees where their insides burst, spreading the fungal spores…" she suddenly remembered a detail Nick had told her, "Nick said that the victims were found in trees!"

Juliette finished reading the page for her, "When eaten raw the mushrooms are harmless, but when cooked they release a toxin fatal to Blutbaden. Did Monroe eat any mushrooms?" she asked nervously.

"No…not that I can remember…but it has to be the tartlets because there was a mushroom in it and it wasn't on the menu...everyone got one compliments of the chef. I wouldn't let Monroe eat it because…because of the met but…Josie and I shared." Rosalee said sadly and closed her eyes in anger, "God I shouldn't have let her eat it!"

"Rosalee, it's okay." Juliette told her softly.

Rosalee shook her head as she let the book fall to the floor, "I'm just as bad as Regina."

"Who?" Juliette asked.

"Josie's biological mother…" Rosalee said softly looking sadly at the sleeping girl, "I almost killed Josie…"

"Whoa! You are not comparing yourself to the woman that beat and neglected Josie!" Juliette yelled angrily, "You are nothing like that! You had no clue what was in that thing!"

"I should have-"

"What? Controlled her diet? Picked apart every little morsel? Rosalee it was an accident and if anyone should be ashamed it's the person doing this."

Rosalee held her face in her hands and looked at Juliette and nodded, "Okay…you're right…I need to focus on telling Nick so we can catch this guy."

"Rosalee, Josie loves you and she knows, hell, we all know you would never ever hurt her intentionally or even unintentionally." Juliette said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "It was an accident and Josie knows that. She's okay."

"Had she been a Blutbad…"

"She's not a Blutbad…well…not completely at least." Juliette shrugged.

Rosalee nodded and finally managed a weak and tired smile and finally stood up to go look at Josie. She was very pale and her eyes were baggy. She seemed content now that she had her animals with her. But as she looked at the sleeping human girl she was suddenly struck with a thought, "What else about Josie don't we know?"

….

Monroe made it to the hospital looking horrified and angry. His good friend had just been killed and from what Nick had heard from Rosalee over the phone, it was murder. Baurschwein were attacking his kind in the most ruthless and disgusting way. Not only that, they attacked his daughter. He could only be grateful she wasn't a Blutbad, but it spoke volumes that she was like him on the inside and changed a lot of what he used to think about her. His little girl did have some Blutbad in her after all. He didn't know whether to be happy or confused, but right now he settled for angry because she was in the hospital due to somebody going after Blutbaden.

He found her room and paused as he looked inside. There were some books scattered around the floor and Rosalee was sleeping in a chair, using Josie's bed as a pillow for support. She was holding Josie's hand who was also sleeping contentedly with her animals that Rosalee must have brought her.

Thank God Josie was okay, that she was part human or else she would have ended up like Sam; an image he would never forget in his lifetime. The thought of Josie going through that terrified him, hell any image of his little girl hurt or dying terrified him.

He walked in and put a hand on Josie's head, she must have felt it because she turned her head slowly and opened her eyes a fraction, "Daddy?" she mumbled.

"Hi baby girl." He whispered.

"Going home?" she asked tiredly.

"Shh…not yet, Rosalee's asleep, let's not wake her."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah." He smiled.

"My tummy not hurting no more."

"I'm glad." He said, feeling immense relief, "We'll go home soon."

"Can you kiss me night?"

He chuckled lightly and nodded. He woge'd for her and she reached up carefully to touch his face like she always did. He bent down and nuzzled her cheek with his whiskers and she gave a breathy giggle, "Daddy."

"That's right." He said as he kissed her forehead, "You are my little girl. You always will be."

"Even though I don't woge." She yawned, getting comfortable again.

He shifted back and sighed, "You don't have a woge to be my little girl. Get some sleep, sweetie."

She smiled and fell back into a deep sleep and he found a chair to pull up next to Rosalee who seemed dead to the world. He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders as he sat in his chair.

He looked once more at Josie and sighed to himself, "You may not woge, but there's no denying now that you're just as much a Wesen as I am."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! I apologize for being so late. Because it's still pretty early in the season I tend to wait a few episodes before posting; that and I have like five other fanfics lol. But seriously I'm going to try and get the next chapter up real soon since the hiatus is over on Friday! Thanks for being patient! Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season!**

Josie couldn't remember a time she didn't enjoy helping her dad set up the house for Christmas. He always made Christmas special for her, especially now that she was finally his. It had been a long time it felt since she'd gotten to help him with his decorations. The last time he had to do it himself because of the custody battle and then the one after that he had more Grimm issues with Nick. But this year was different. This year; he was starting a new family with Rosalee and Josie. He wanted to give Josie a chance to decorate with him again and surprise Rosalee. And if there was one thing he prided himself on, was that his holiday spirit passed on to Josie.

She was finally recovering from the mushroom fiasco, but had to undergo a couple of tests to make sure that everything was intact. She was eating normally again and finally looking back to her old self. With Rosalee around, it really helped when taking care of her.

The only issues that came up recently were; the fact that neither of their parents had been given any details as to their moving in and Monroe was still getting used to Rosalee answering to the Council on several issues he deemed unethical. He knew that she did things to protect him and Josie but there were times he knew he would never want Josie to see him be a part of and being responsible for someone's death was one of them.

Other than that, she took Rosalee living with them really well and couldn't be happier to spend her first Christmas as a family.

She did everything in her power to do what her father told her to do by being very secret and quiet about setting up for Christmas that morning. She acted completely innocent as Rosalee came down.

"Alright, I'm heading for work." She said quickly, "Will I see you later?"

"Well, I'm gonna finish some…last minute…orders." Monroe said, trying to act innocent.

"Daddy wants to make something for dinner." Josie smiled as she finished her bagel.

"Ooh!" Rosalee smiled excitedly, "Can't wait! Okay. Bye!" she smiled, quickly kissing Monroe and then heading over to Josie.

She giggled when Rosalee blew a raspberry on her cheek and hugged her quickly.

Rosalee gave her one last kiss before heading out, "I'll see you two later!" she called.

Monroe smiled, loving how easy it was to just accept Rosalee as a mom for Josie. But he had to think quickly as Juliette popped up in the doorway like a gnome.

"She see you?" he asked as Josie got down quickly, hopping up and down excitedly.

"No." Juliette laughed, taking off her coat.

"Your car? You parked-"

"I parked at least a block away, she didn't see me, now let's go!" she laughed.

"You ready Josie Posie?" he smiled.

Josie saluted, "Yes sir!"

"That's the Monroe Christmas spirit!" he said proudly and then grinned at Juliette, "She got that from me."

"I couldn't tell." Juliette joked.

Monroe and Juliette managed to bring up every single box labeled for Christmas while Josie stayed out of the way. She was actually quite scared of the basement and Monroe didn't want her knocking things over and getting hurt. Juliette managed to find a Santa hat and put little reindeer antlers on Josie while Monroe huffed and looked around.

"I can't thank you enough for this." He told Juliette.

"I still think this is something you two should do together with Josie…not me." Juliette admitted.

"I know it's just…it's not the same as seeing the magic all completed!" Monroe smiled, "I remember when Josie was about two when I decorated it all for her when she came by. Her face just lit up excitedly and she was so happy. I want Rosalee to have that same feeling. Besides I don't want her overwhelmed because…well…I mean I got a lot…a lot of stuff. I mean I have forty two boxes…"

Josie was already going through things while Juliette looked at Monroe with the most unpleasant facial expression, "I really wish you hadn't told me that…"

"Oops!" Josie yelped as a box tipped over and tinsel fell out. Monroe merely smiled at her and helped her clean it up.

"I guess we'll start there, sweetie. You ready?"

"Yeah!" she smiled, "Can I put up my stocking and ornaments?"

"Absolutely." He grinned, "You have no idea how great it is to decorate with you."

"I'm really happy I can help now, Daddy! Cause I'm a big girl!"

"And you're home." Said softly as he held her close.

Juliette smiled at the two as she opened a box containing Christmas lights. A part of her really wished Rosalee were here to see this, but Monroe really wanted to surprise her. She supposed once it was over she'd understand more fully. That is unless she collapsed at the sheer number of boxes.

…..

"Get ready!" Monroe whispered excitedly to Josie who hopped up and down as Rosalee's car pulled up. She'd asked her dad if she could wear her special Christmas dress but he told her to wait for it to actually be Christmas.

Monroe had a plan for both of them to yell surprise when she walked around the corner by the tree, but the minute Rosalee unlocked the door, Josie pounced and squealed.

Before she was even in the house Josie was yelling excitedly, "Look Rosalee! Look what me and Daddy did!"

Rosalee widened her eyes and came in, looking around in shock and surprise. She was in the right house right? Josie was bouncing in front of her like a rabbit after all.

"M-Monroe?" she called.

"Hey!" Monroe said happily after rolling his eyes at Josie's excitement, "Merry Christmas! What do you think?"

Rosalee stared around her, completely astounded that one person could have so many Christmas decorations. Golden tinsel covered the ceiling, not one, but two gigantic trees sat at different ends of the house covered in lights and ornaments, a massive train set complete with snowy tracks took over the living room, and everywhere she looked were Santa's, reindeer, and other related Christmas doodads. It was…too much.

"Wow…umm…" she swallowed, "It's very…very Christmas-y."

She looked down at Josie who looked at her excitedly and Monroe had a hopeful expression on his face as he told her the history behind his mint condition trains and Nutcracker figurines. He was so in love with this season she could tell by the way his face lit up and how truly happy he was in his home surrounded by all the…stuff.

And then Josie…oh, Josie even tried pushing them both under the mistletoe he'd hung.

"You like it?" he asked, holding her hands as she looked up.

She put on a smile and squeezed his hand and nodded, "I do…I…but…"

"But?" Monroe asked, "There's a but?"

"Well…" she tried again and that's when her heart broke. Both Monroe and Josie's faces fell as they watched her.

"Is it…is it too much or-" Monroe said, "Because I mean…I admit it can be a shock for some but-"

"No…Oh Monroe, it's…it's all so great and you did so much…it's just…"

"Oh no…" he sighed.

Josie looked devastated and Monroe decided he didn't want her hearing this conversation; it wasn't fair to her.

"Josie why don't you go and find the hot cocoa and I bet Rosalee will love some." He smiled.

Josie perked up and looked at Rosalee, "Rosalee will hot cocoa make you feel better?"

"Oh sweetie…" she smiled, bending down and hoping no tears came to her eyes, "You know me all too well." She said lovingly, "I would love some."

"Do you want marshmallows too?"

"Oh I'd love lots and lots!" she smiled.

"Okay! I'll go get it ready!" she said proudly as she ran to the kitchen.

That left Monroe to face the truth of the matter; Rosalee hated Christmas.

"What is it?" he asked her gently.

"No…Monroe, I can deal I-"

"Rosalee, we're living together now." He told her firmly, "We have Josie to think about too. But in our relationship, all I want and ask for is honesty. If you're not okay I need to know…I want to know so I can help you."

Rosalee looked the Christmas tree up and down and crossed her arms tightly to hold back her emotions.

"Christmas was a really big deal growing up…" she started, "Maybe not this big a deal." She shrugged.

Monroe watched her, feeling sad that this was obviously a very personal issue and that he might have triggered something.

"Anyway," She continued, "My Uncle Henry and Aunt Jeanette, they were my favorites." She smiled, "They were funny and loving and full of life and they always brought me the best presents. And the Christmas when I was seven they were killed in a car accident."

Monroe closed his eyes, his heart breaking completely for Rosalee. How devastating to lose family you loved so much during a time meant to be together and happy.

"They were coming to my house for Christmas Eve." She explained sadly.

"Oh God, Rosalee you never told me." He said sadly.

"I didn't want to ruin you or Josie's celebration or anything really." She said as tears started forming in her eyes, "It's just…it's all so fantastic."

Monroe sighed and looked around at all the colors and wonder he, Juliette, and Josie all worked so hard on to surprise Rosalee with, and here she was remembering how sad it was to lose her family members.

"I can take it down." He mumbled sadly, "It's obviously very upsetting to you and-"

"No! Monroe, oh no! Please…I couldn't ask you to do that. It's not fair."

"No, it's not fair…and I love you enough to know that this is something you aren't…comfortable with and I understand that."

She let the tears flow and came over to him for a hug, "I'm so sorry. I feel so, so terrible."

He hugged her back and smiled into her hair, "It's okay. We're a family. And that's all that matters to me. Not some silly decorations or a…a mint condition 1930 train set…"

She chuckled a little and shook her head, "Monroe…you don't know how much I love seeing you happy…I just…"

"I know…we'll make it work somehow, okay?" he smiled sadly as he kissed her forehead.

They heard a crash in the kitchen and Monroe sighed as he decided that was his cue to help Josie make hot chocolate…hopefully that wasn't a bad memory for Rosalee either.

…..

Josie woke up hearing strange noises below her. Her eyes widened when she realized it was shuffling footsteps and soft banging sounds. She sat up nervously and hugged Luna close; what if Rick had found her?

She looked around the dark room in fear, her gaze lingering for a few extra seconds on the closet or the extremely dark corners.

She heard it again and she decided to make a break for the door. Her foot was caught in the blankets and she ended up falling flat on her face on the floor. She didn't cry though for fear she'd be found. Instead she crawled under the bed and hid, hoping that maybe Rick didn't hear her.

She whimpered, wondering if her dad could smell him or hear her.

She heard more footsteps and then her door opened and a light turned on.

"Josie?" Rosalee called softly, "Josie? Where are you?"

Josie crawled out very carefully and peeked her head out from under the bed. Rosalee was walking around the room and even looking in the closet.

"Mommy?" Josie whimpered.

Rosalee turned sharply and blew a sigh of relief, coming to her quickly, "Josie, you scared me."

Josie crawled back under the bed quickly and shook her head.

"Josie, what's wrong?" Rosalee asked, getting down on her hands and knees.

"R-Rick…" Josie breathed fearfully.

Rosalee's eyes widened and she shook her head, looking behind her, "No…Josie, he's not here. That's just Monroe downstairs doing something…what is he doing?" she asked suddenly.

Josie whimpered again and Rosalee reached under the bed to find her hand, "It's okay Josie, let's go look together."

"I'm scared." Josie cried.

"Don't be, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." Rosalee said firmly, "Come on, it's okay."

Josie finally came out and let Rosalee pick her up, using Josie's bed as a stand so she could get up awkwardly while holding the girl who was clutching her fiercely.

Rosalee carried her to the stairs and then walked down. She expected to see all the Christmas decorations when she got to the bottom but found herself blinking a few times in shock; they were gone. Well…the tree was still up and a few things were just piled on the couch, but still…it was almost like they were slowly disappearing before her eyes.

She saw Monroe looking tired and bending over, taking apart some things on the floor.

"Daddy?" Josie cried.

He turned and his eyes widened when he saw them. He put on a smile quickly, "Hey Josie, Rosalee…you okay?"

"Is Rick here?" Josie asked nervously.

Monroe stood up and realized he'd probably made too much noise and scared her. He smiled and shook his head as he took her from Rosalee, "No, sweetie, he's not here. It was just bumbling me."

"What are you doing down here, Monroe?" Rosalee asked as she looked around sadly.

"Where'd all the lights go Daddy?" Josie suddenly asked, looking around the room.

Monroe carried her to the kitchen and Rosalee followed, "How about some warm milk, yeah?"

Josie nodded and yawned as he set her on the table.

"Monroe…" Rosalee asked from the doorway, crossing her arms, "What happened to all the-"

"I'm taking it down." He said quickly.

"Why?" Josie gasped

Rosalee felt her stomach drop and looked over at Josie, feeling completely guilty.

"Well…it was just a lot." He shrugged as though it was no big deal, but Rosalee could see how much it hurt having to put everything away.

"But Daddy…we do it every year!" Josie whined, her fears of Rick pretty much forgotten now that she knew he was nowhere in the house.

Monroe was about to go on but Rosalee jumped in, "It's my fault, Josie…" she said softly.

Monroe watched her as she crouched before Josie and swallowed, "Christmas time for me…it isn't very happy and…I…I lost some people I loved very much on Christmas Eve…so…so for me, Christmas makes me sad and your dad, he loves me so much he's willing to help me not be sad."

Josie stared at Rosalee and then put a hand on her hair, "You shouldn't be sad on Christmas Rosalee, it's happy."

"I know, I know." Rosalee smiled through tears, "It's just…it's not easy for me is all."

"We could help you not be sad. If you want…we can just put up stockings instead so that way Santa knows where to put the gifts. Is that okay?"

Rosalee smiled at Josie and hugged her, "I would love that."

Monroe smiled proudly at Josie and then put a hand on Rosalee's back, "You girls get back to bed, I'll make sure the stockings stay up, okay?"

"And the tree!" Josie said quickly, "Rosalee…can we keep the tree so Santa puts gifts under them too?"

"Of course, absolutely!" Rosalee smiled, smoothing her hair from her eyes.

"Okay." Monroe smiled, "You both get back to bed."

"Monroe…" Rosalee said but he shook his head merely kissed her cheek

"It's okay…I'll be up later." He told her gently.

Rosalee sighed and nodded, maybe having Josie sleep with her wasn't such a bad idea tonight.

….

"Oh, Juliette I feel like the crapiest girlfriend and the worst mother to ever grace the planet! I'm like Scrooge reincarnated!" Rosalee complained as she and Juliette shared tea at her shop. She'd first wanted to apologize to Juliette considering she'd spent all that time helping Monroe and Josie, and of course, at this moment, she needed a friend to talk to.

"No! You're not." Juliette told her calmly, "And Josie wouldn't be here if she thought you were a terrible mom."

They both looked over at Josie, who was playing with her toys on the floor. Rosalee had offered to give Monroe a rest for the day since he'd stayed up so late the night before. That meant Josie spent the day helping Rosalee at the shop.

"Josie was so sweet about it too." Rosalee continued, "Like she didn't care about the decorations, she just wanted me to be happy and…oh gosh it was so amazing…I swear she gets that from Monroe!"

"How did Monroe take it?"

"He was so thoughtful but…oh I could just see how devastated he was and it broke my heart. He was so cute the way he lit up showing me all his things."

Juliette smiled knowingly, "Did he show you that snow globe from Disney World he got as a young adult?" Juliette chuckled, "It had Mickey and Minnie singing a carol or something."

Rosalee put her head in her hands and moaned, "What do I do? I can't just let him do this to himself!"

"But you shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable either. What you're feeling is normal."

"Honestly…I should just…let it go." Rosalee muttered bitterly.

"No! You should never forget all the good memories, but…well…Nick and I we never celebrated Christmas either so…we made our own new traditions. Maybe that's something you and Monroe could do with Josie."

Rosalee grinned, "You know…I do have this great memory of my aunt laying out a beer and cigar for Santa."

"There you go! See, start remembering the good and you and Monroe could both enjoy the holidays making your own new memories with Josie."

Rosalee smiled and nodded, "I like that."

"You need some help?" Juliette chuckled.

"No! No you have done plenty for me and Monroe…I think this is something I need to do myself." She nodded kindly to her friend, "Thanks."

"Any time." Juliette smiled.

"Hey Josie!" Rosalee called. The girl looked up and came over with an array of stuffed animals, "How would you like to be my special helper?"

Josie nodded excitedly and Rosalee smiled, "We're gonna surprise your Dad."

….

Monroe came back into the house and stopped dead; everything had been put back up! But he swore he'd taken it down the night before…did he hit his head on a rock?

He came into the room and looked down to see Josie snuggling with Rosalee on the couch, both dead asleep. He smiled and found a throw blanket to cover them with. It was then that he saw the mug of beer and a cigar placed on the mantle for Santa.

Looking around he suddenly realized that although both of them had different traditions, it was great to know they were willing to share new memories and let go of the past to raise Josie.

He never, ever imagined he'd see Josie snuggling happily with a woman who would love her so much. As he kissed his little girl he knew he'd made the right decision in bringing Rosalee into their lives. He never wanted to let her go, either of them.

He sighed and felt his phone buzz suddenly and ran to the kitchen to answer it. While he was in there he could take some pictures.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Monroe? It's Hank."

"Hank? Is everything okay with the uh-"

"Yeah, that's fine, it's just…this is something else."

"Oh?" he said as he shed his coat.

"Me and Nick just got a call from a local station out in Salem, Oregon…they think they saw Rick."

Monroe nearly dropped the phone, "How long ago?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"About three hours maybe four. We didn't just get the news until now cause of the weird Santa case."

"Does Nick know?"

"Yeah, he's here, we're actually headed your way. Is Josie there? Is she safe?"

"Yeah…" Monroe turned as though scared his baby girl would suddenly be harmed if he turned his back, "Yeah, she and Rosalee are here…she's okay…"

"Good, just lock your doors and windows, keep a lookout and don't let her out of your sight."

"He can't…he couldn't be here could he?"

"We don't know…but we're sending units your way now just to be sure. We aren't taking chances with this creep."

"Okay…thanks." Monroe said, hanging up.

He sniffed around his home and didn't smell anything out of the ordinary, but he knew how easy it was for Rick to just slither by unseen.

Monroe hated to do it, but he walked over and shook Rosalee awake.

"Monroe?" she mumbled sleepily.

He looked down at her with worry and she smiled up at him, "You're back! Do you like it?"

"What?" he asked.

"The decorations." She yawned as she sat up and stretched.

"Don't wake Josie!" he whispered loudly.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, stretching.

He looked around nervously and made sure Josie was sound asleep before answering very quietly, "Hank just called…they spotted Rick in Salem a few hours ago…Rosalee…he could be here."

Her eyes widened and she got up real fast without even moving Josie, "Oh my God."

"Yeah…I know…Nick and Hank are coming over and police are on their way but…"

"Monroe…I could take her to the spice shop for the night. He'd never think to look for her there…or maybe Nick and Juliette could-"

"I'll think about it later I just…"

He sat down next to Josie and panted, rocking back and forth in worry.

"It's okay Monroe. She's right here. He won't touch her with us in his way."

"I know I just…every time that bastard's name or…his scent comes up I never get over it. I swear to God this time if he so much as lays a finger on her, I'm tearing him to shreds, with or without Nick's help."

"Monroe…let Nick handle this, you can't go to prison-"

"At least she'd be safe!" he said loudly, nearly waking up Josie, "At least then…she wouldn't have nightmares at night or wet herself for fear of using a public restroom for God's sake!" he choked as tears formed in his eyes, "I just want my daughter safe."

"We all do Monroe…so let us help." Rosalee said softly, "She's going to be okay."

Monroe finally got up and wiped his face, suddenly looking angry, "Please just stay with her, I…I need some air, I'll be right back in."

"Monroe-"

"It's okay; I'm not going anywhere, just…"

She sighed and nodded, "I won't leave."

"You know where the panic buttons are?" he asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Okay…" he said as he walked to his front door, opening the jolly looking display angrily and nearly slamming it shut.

He walked off his steps and sniffed around. He didn't smell anything out of place but he could sense something bad was coming.

"Rick…" He growled, his eyes glowing red, "Police are on their way now…so if I were you I'd hightail it out of here like the little coward you are."

He looked around and then woge'd completely and growled in a low and very dangerous voice, "But you and I have a score to settle. If you aren't a coward…tomorrow night, the park. Meet me and we'll settle this like Blutbads. But know this…you are never, ever putting your filthy mitts on Josie ever again."

He woge'd back and then backed up, pretty sure Rick got the message, "I'll see you tomorrow you bastard."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: There is violence in this chapter (fighting violence, talk of blood, lots of beatings, etc.) **

Monroe held Josie for as long as he could before bedtime. He'd read her a story, played her favorite songs to dance to, even made sure she ate one of her favorite dishes. And with Rosalee he spent the day with her and Josie at the shop, enjoying every second with them. Rosalee was downstairs doing some paperwork and here he was, preparing himself for what he was about to do.

He didn't intend to die tonight…but he had to make sure that Rosalee and Josie were safe. He had the letter ready in his pocket and would soon call Nick.

Tonight it was going to end. He didn't care his outcome, but he did know one thing for sure; that he was finally putting a stop to Rick completely. Hell he should have done it years ago when he beat the guy to kingdom come.

"Daddy can you read it again?" Josie asked him sweetly with a slight yawn in her voice.

He smiled and kissed her forehead, "One more time."

She bounced happily in his lap as he prepared to read. He knew the story by heart and never failed to use expressions and silly voices with her, even if his mind was occupied elsewhere as the clock on her dresser ticked away. As much as he loved clocks…there were moments he hated time.

Josie fell asleep halfway through reading and he kissed her once more before tucking her into bed, making sure she had her stuffed animals surrounding her.

"Daddy loves you so very much, Josie." He whispered to her as she slept, "Never forget that."

He kissed her one final time before leaving the room and turning off her light.

He went downstairs and decided to handle one final thing before he took the trek out into the woods.

He found Rosalee sitting at the table with glasses on and looking frazzled as she looked at receipts and bills.

"Hey." He smiled, coming in.

"Hey!" she replied, turning in her seat to look at him, "She finally in bed?"

"Yes." He nodded, not sure what else to do or say.

"Well, that's good because…I was thinking of maybe spreading a little more Christmas cheer…" she grinned seductively as she stood up, her hands moving up his chest before clasping them behind his neck.

He held her and kissed her passionately, hoping to savor the moment before he had to leave.

"God…I do love you." He breathed.

"I would hope so." She giggled, "So…what do you say?"

He stared at her sadly and smiled, "I…I want to but…"

"But what?" she asked, looking slightly disappointed.

He sighed, looking away, "I just…I need to get something done tonight…"

"Can it wait?" she laughed.

"No…no…" he shook his head.

"Monroe?" she questioned, suddenly realizing that something more might be going on, "Is this about Rick? Nick and Hank both said they couldn't find him…he's probably long gone or-"

"No." he interrupted her quickly, "No…I just…"

He stared lovingly at her, "I just need to do this, okay? And…just promise me you'll watch Josie? Always love her and look after her?"

Rosalee didn't like where this was going, "Monroe please talk to me. What's going on?"

He bit his lip and closed his eyes, shaking his head and finally pulled out the letter he'd written her. He was going to leave it on her pillow but…

"As soon as I leave I want you to read it." He instructed, "And I want you to call Nick too."

"Monroe, what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

He looked into her eyes and shook his head, "You'll know soon enough just know that I'm doing this for you and Josie and…I promise, it's going to be okay."

"Monroe, stop! You're scaring me." She said tearfully, "Please just-"

"I need to leave now. Lock all the doors and windows, call Nick, and don't let Josie leave your sight, understood?"

She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat as he kissed her forehead one more time and then walked to the front door.

She clutched the letter in her shaking hands as she watched him pull on a black hoodie and open the door. He turned around to smile at her one final time before closing it.

Rosalee tore the letter open and her eyes widened. She immediately ran to her phone and called Nick right as she hurried up the stairs to Josie's room.

….

Monroe hardly felt the chill in the air as he sniffed, looking around him at the forest. His eyes burned red and boy had he never felt more alive than now. He didn't know how far he'd walked; he only knew it would be quite the hike for anyone to find them.

He knew how completely dangerous he looked wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie, hood up and all. His face was dead set, ready for a fight, and he was not someone to bump into at this time of night; especially not with the way his inner wolf was threatening to leak out.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he smelled it, no, sensed it. It was an evil he knew all too well.

"Might as well come on out, Rick." He muttered into the darkness surrounding the trees.

He heard the crunch of leaves and branches and sure enough, the menacing blonde emerged from the trees nearby. His scar was still as prominent, even at night. And his hair was unkempt and shaggy in its ponytail from being on the run so much. His tattered jeans and black t-shirt only showcased his multiple tattoos, scars, and muscles he'd obviously gotten from being in jail. Monroe knew he was out of shape compared to this psycho, but he had to try.

"How's my Josie doing? I've seen her through the windows; playing with that little Fuchsbau whore."

Monroe clenched his fist angrily.

"Josie's such a delectable little thing. I always enjoyed watching her face every time I fucked her and tore her apart…Mmm she was good-"

Monroe woge'd and growled loudly, his hackles raised.

"Oh…I'm sorry…you don't like me talking about your little brat? Not my fault you were a lousy excuse for a Blutbad." Rick laughed maniacally.

"We'll see tonight who the bigger Blutbad is." Monroe promised as he retracted slightly, "And I swear when I'm through with you, Josie will never even remember your name. Your limbs are gonna hang on every branch for all the vultures to devour. You deserve worse, but that's the best I can come up with on short notice. I have Pilates in a few hours, so let's make this quick."

Rick merely sneered at Monroe as both of them woge'd fully; Rick looking more ragged and mangy than Monroe did.

"And if you lose?" Rick growled, "Oh the things I'm going to do to that child…and your pretty little Fuchsbau. I bet she's a mouthful…if you know what I mean?"

Monroe lunged just then. Rick was quicker as he grabbed Monroe and threw him against a tree roughly.

Monroe could hear Rick's laughter and all that did was egg him on to really destroy the bastard.

He jumped up with the speed only a wolf could muster right as Rick lunged at him.

He dodged Rick and hopped onto a tree branch, holding on and staring down at the psychopath he was ready to put an end to.

Rick growled, obviously annoyed and Monroe decided to ease his frustration and jump down violently, letting Rick catch him.

Both rolled, biting, snarling, and scratching at one another and refusing to let go as they avoided the others teeth only to fail miserably on both parts.

They finally pushed each other back. Monroe hit a tree and Rick fell to the ground, groaning.

Monroe panted and tasted blood. He didn't care whose it was, it only made him thirsty for more.

Rick lay there and licked his lips, grinning, "Not bad."

"Yeah? How about this?" Monroe snapped as he aimed a kick at Rick's face. His aim was true, but every Wesen knew a Blutbad never really felt a blow to the head from just a foot; even a Blutbad foot. But it still did its job, leaving a nasty bruise and kicking out a tooth.

Monroe aimed another kick at him but Rick caught his leg and twisted it violently.

Monroe howled as he fell and then latched his teeth onto Rick's leg, gnawing on it so hard and violently, he actually felt his teeth hit bone.

Rick howled angrily as he tore Monroe's face from his leg, not caring how much skin came off as he punched Monroe over and over again, tugging his hair painfully.

Monroe had the upper hand, as his leg was still functional. Thanks to all the Pilates and Yoga he spun around and hopped up, roundhouse kicking Rick straight in the face again.

Monroe walked away, panting and snarling, blood covering his entire face as he found a thick branch and picked it up.

He turned and looked over at Rick, coming back over and staring down in disgust at the guy. He expected more of a fight from Rick, but then again, Monroe had an advantage; he had his young to protect and every Wesen knew not to ever mess with someone's child, ever. It only made them ten times more violent.

Monroe retracted, still holding the branch, "You remember the day I found my daughter covered in bruises from your hands? Remember the night I found her bloodied and raped? The night she almost died in the woods naked and torn up? DO YOU?!" he shouted, swinging the branch down and hitting Rick right in the back spot he knew every Blutbad had.

"DO YOU?!" Monroe shouted, hitting Rick everywhere again and again and again until he couldn't do it anymore. And he hadn't even woge'd to hit this guy.

Monroe dropped the branch and stared at the bloodied and bruised up filth below him and finally knelt down, "That feeling, right now that you're experiencing?" he whispered dangerously, "I don't ever want it to end for you. Because you put my daughter through that for too long. I want you to suffer more than she did. More than I did."

Rick coughed up blood but laughed and that only made Monroe angry. Rick spat at him, covering his eyes with blood.

Monroe wiped it off and stared back with disgust and rage, his fists clenching.

"Your-your daughter…" Rick laughed, "will never forget me. Neither will you."

Monroe shook his head slowly.

Rick smiled, his teeth yellow and blood stained, "I'm going to enjoy her face when I bring back your head."

Monroe glared at him and snorted until he felt a fist grab his head and pull him down.

Shit! He'd made himself an easy target still being in human form. Rick's teeth just grazed his neck before both heard a gunshot.

Monroe pushed himself back quickly and scooted away, turning around. His face fell when he saw Nick and Hank advancing, guns on both him and Rick.

"Monroe!" Nick yelled, "Monroe are you okay?"

Monroe glared at them and then stared angrily at Rick, "Nick, just leave and let me finish him off." Monroe said.

"Monroe, don't do this." Hank pleaded, "We'll take him in and make sure he never sees daylight again."

"I can't let him go, Nick." Monroe yelled, standing up furiously and glaring down at Rick, "I can't let Josie live like this anymore."

"She doesn't have to. Please just don't." Nick pleaded, "Don't make me tell her what you really are, what you really did."

Monroe stared at Nick and shook his head, "The second I kill this bastard will be the day my daughter can sleep at night."

"But you won't get to see it if you do this Monroe." Hank warned, "Please…just let us take him in. You can go home and be with Josie…with Rosalee…please."

"Monroe." Nick said softly as he walked forward carefully, "Please…I'm your friend and you know I love Josie too. Let us help you."

Monroe felt tears fill his eyes as he shook his head.

"I helped you get her before, right? I helped you save her, remember?" Nick asked, "Remember? It's me. It's just me talking to you right now."

Monroe unclenched his fists and closed his eyes, feeling the weight of every conflicting emotion he carried hit him all at once.

"Nick he…"  
"I know what he did Monroe…and he's going to pay for it." Nick said, "Please…don't be like him. You aren't a killer."

Monroe looked from Nick to Hank and then back down to Rick and closed his eyes as though fighting internally with himself. Every fiber inside of him wanted to kill this bastard and avenge his daughter. But Nick and Hank's words rang through his head as though a light were coming to the darkness inside of him. He felt that red hot anger slowly dissipating and ebb away little by little as exhaustion sunk in instead.

"Nick…" he breathed, looking defeated at his friend.

"It's okay, Monroe." Nick said softly, lowering his gun, "You don't have to worry anymore, okay?"

"Nick…" he cried suddenly, his hands going to his face as he felt himself breaking down, "Josie…"

"I know." Nick said, "I know."

Hank and Nick exchanged a look and nodded. Monroe stood there and suddenly watched as both of them walked over to Rick, staring down at the bloody figure with disgust.

He looked as though he'd won the lottery and chuckled, "So much for your plan Monroe." He laughed, as Hank got him up, "Guess Josie's gonna remember me after all…and oh I'll make sure she does."

"Shut your mouth." Hank spat angrily, shoving him to the ground.

"Rick Gaines you have the right to remain silent," Nick said angrily as they cuffed him, "and I strongly suggest you do. You have-"

Monroe turned quickly to see Rick to shove them off quickly and roar, changing back into a Blutbad.

He'd tossed Hank straight into a tree and he crumpled down in a heap while Nick had somersaulted back and bounced back up, aiming his gun at Rick's chest, "Gaines, stand down now!"

Rick advanced, "I'm not scared of you Grimm."

"I said stand down!"

Monroe lunged; fully woge'd and bit down, tearing at Rick's throat.

"Monroe!" Nick yelled afraid to shoot the wrong person.

Rick twitched violently, growling, but knew he was a goner the minute Monroe snapped his neck with his teeth. There was a loud snapping sound followed by a choke and then nothing. His body turned limp and Monroe stood up, wiping the blood off his face as though it burned him.

He stared at Nick, turning back into a human and looking almost fearful.

Nick had his gun up but it was lowered a little.

Monroe stared at Nick hopelessly. He won…he won the battle but…at what cost?

"Nick…I'm so sorry, I-"

Nick put his gun down and came over to his friend, "I know you were only trying to protect us, Monroe…"

Monroe covered his face, wiping off as much blood as he could, "Oh God…Oh God!" he moaned, "Josie…what's going to happen to-"

"Monroe, stop!" Nick snapped suddenly, looking down at the body. He sighed as Hank came over, rubbing his head.

"What should we do?" Hank asked Nick, "Your call."

Monroe was ready for it, for his friend to put him in handcuffs and take him away from Josie forever.

"We call it a wolf attack." Nick shrugged, "Technically that's sort of what it was anyways."

Hank smiled a little at the expression Monroe gave them, shock mixed a little with annoyance.

"I think it's safe to say that's what happened here. Don't you?" he asked Hank.

"Looks about right to me." Hank nodded.

"Nick, Hank…I…" Monroe said weakly.

"Monroe, just go home to Josie and Rosalee, get cleaned up, and forget this ever happened, okay?" Nick said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "And when it makes the news…make sure Josie sees it. Tell her she doesn't have to be scared anymore."

Monroe nodded, still in shock, "Thank you…both of you, I-"

"Next time just tell us first before going after a nut job yourself again, okay?" Hank smiled.

Monroe nodded and turned away. He paused and looked back, "Thank you for stopping me."

"Thanks for saving us, Monroe." Nick replied, smiling at his friend.

Monroe heaved a huge sigh before finally turning and trekking back home, tears leaking down his face as he did.

…..

He walked into the house, not really sure if he could remember how he got there. He walked in, his vision fuzzy and hurried upstairs to get rid of all the blood.

He ran to the bathroom and leaned against the door as he closed it, resting his aching head against the cool wood.

Everything hurt now as little details came back into his memory. The scent of blood filled his nostrils. And he almost didn't dare move or make a sound for fear of breaking down completely, but knew he needed to get cleaned up. He immediately removed his hoodie and shirt and didn't even bother looking at his own reflection for fear of making everything true.

He heard a knock at the door and his eyes flashed red for a second.

"Monroe?!" Rosalee called from the other side, "Monroe is that you in there?"

Her voice penetrated all of his worries and he swallowed, finally speaking, "Y-yes."

"Can I…can I come in?"

He nodded but then realized she couldn't see him so he choked on a sob as he said answered her softly, "Yes."

She opened the door slowly and looked inside. She gasped the minute she saw him, her eyes widened and she immediately shut the door behind her, coming to him and wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Monroe I was so scared…" she cried into his chest, "I was so scared you'd…"

His hands moved up and clutched her back quickly. He held her so tight he was afraid he'd bruise her but holding her felt like such a Godsend after everything tonight.

He held back his tears as he rested his chin against the top of her head. Time seemed to pass slowly for them as they stood there holding one another, both trying to fight the tears from falling.

She finally pulled away gently and looked up at his bloodied face, more tears leaking from her eyes as her face scrunched, holding back a sob. She reached up to hold his face in her palms gently and internally willed his eyes to meet hers.

When they did she could see how devastated, scared, and exhausted he was.

"Come on." She said firmly, breaking the spell and realizing what she needed to do first, "Let's get you cleaned up."

She turned and immediately started the shower and picked up his shirt.

He watched her and stared at the water longingly calling him. As numb as he felt he knew he needed to get rid of the smell and taste of blood and more than anything, he needed to tell Rosalee and hold his baby.

"I'll be quick." He told her, "When I'm done…can we…I just…"

She put the shirt on the counter and came over to him, nodding, "Whatever you need Monroe…please just talk to me okay?"

He nodded, watching her head towards the door. Before he could turn and get into the shower her voice spoke up again, "Monroe…can I ask…is he…is he…?"

"We don't have to worry about Rick Gaines anymore for the rest of our lives." He told her firmly before stepping into the shower and letting those words sink just as the blood running off his body was doing. Rick was gone, just like the blood disappearing down the drain. It was over.

…..

Monroe came downstairs to see that Rosalee had started a fire all by herself and had made some tea. She sat at the couch, looking worried as she stared at the flames burning in the hearth, their golden flames illuminating the room almost ominously.

Monroe had made sure he scrubbed off every single droplet of blood from his body and changed into a t-shirt and pants. He rubbed his hair from his eyes and stretched his neck, feeling sore all over.

Rosalee turned to him and then offered him a mug as he found a seat next to her.

He winced a little as he sat down. She curled up comfortably on the couch and stared at him, waiting and watching.

He took a sip of the tea and sighed as the heavenly aroma filled his senses, removing any hint of the blood scent.

"Thank you." He breathed.

"I burned the clothes." She said quickly, pointing to the fire.

He nodded, the less evidence the better anyways.

"Nick called me while you were in the shower." She admitted, "He told me what happened but…"

"You don't believe him?" he asked her.

"No! I do! I just…I need to hear you say it Monroe…"

He nodded and stared at the soft green liquid steaming in his mug, "I know I should have-"

"Monroe I don't care about what you should have done!" she told him sharply, "I just want you to tell me what happened."

He shook his head sadly, "You have every right to hate me and want to leave after this…" he said sadly.

"Look at me." She snapped.

He looked up and met her eyes weakly.

"I'm still here. I'll never leave you or Josie, understand?"

"Rosalee I'm so sorry." He cried softly, tears leaking from his eyes. He faced the fire and stared into it, "I was so close…I felt like I'd just left my body and turned back into a wolf…all I could think about was Josie and what he did to her and me and…I just…God I beat the shit out of him…and I enjoyed it too!" he laughed bitterly, "I thought of everything he'd done to her and I made sure that he felt every blow."

She watched him closely.

"Nick and Hank showed up and…they…I wanted to finish him but then the thought of Josie comparing me to Rick just…it hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt before in my life. I was ready to just let him go, Rosalee." He cried, looking at her, "I almost just let him go!"

Tears poured from her eyes and she nodded for him to continue.

"And then he…he was going to kill Nick and Hank and all I could do was react. I thought about how I just couldn't let him hurt or take someone else from my life ever again and…I killed him."

"Oh Monroe…"

"I didn't mean it…I mean I did but…"

"Monroe you saved Nick and Hank. You saved Josie and me too!" she said, scooting over towards him and putting a hand on his knee, "And…although I'm glad I called Nick and adamantly hated that you'd just gone out there like some sacrificial lamb leaving me and Josie here, I couldn't…I couldn't help but feel like it was good. I was worried and terrified for you but I was just…I was also praying you'd do it, you'd kill him, but then I thought about what that would do to you…to me…to Josie…"

Monroe nodded, "Me too."

"What do we do?" she asked him.

He sighed and shook his head and looked around at the Christmas decorations, ready for Santa's visit in two days' time. He looked over at her and finally felt a smile lift his spirits, "I think we'll let Josie know she never has to worry again. Never think about the bastard for the rest of our lives, and have a great Christmas as a family."

She smiled, her lips trembling, "I think that's a good idea too."

He kissed her forehead and held her, "I love you so much. I'm so sorry I put you through this."

"Monroe…I love you too." She said as she held him back, "And I'll always be here for you."

"I think it's time I stop fighting things on my own." He admitted, "And let you in."

"I'd like that." She nodded.

He sighed as he held her and faced the fire burning in the house. In a few hours it would diminish and go out completely. He vowed that just like that fire, Rick was going to do the same. From now on they were safe and he was never letting go of his family ever again for as long as he lived.


End file.
